Would love some opinions on giving birth.

[Kazmira222]

I'm 34 weeks now with my first and I haven't really put much thought into how birthing and labor may be. Well I'm doing birthing classes online and have been watching a lot of videos and what not and they seem to make labor a lot more intense and painful then it's really put out to be. O_O Can I get some opinions on how you ladies went through it all? What all did you do before actually having the baby? Cuz, now, I'm starting to kinda freak myself out. lol My mom told me that it really wasn't that bad at all and that she didn't even know she was at 10 cm, and with the help of pain killers, it wasn't all that bad.

[ambermario4ever]

The contractions hurt in till I got my epidural after that it was  a breeze. 

[DollFace-23]

EPIDURAL! that is the key to comfortable labor, because of my epidural, giving birth is the easieSt thing I've ever done!

[KaroGreenly]

I had no epidural. I just breathed and went to a happy place and let my body do it's thing. 

Good luck.

[Kazmira222]

I'm jjust hesitant about the epidural. My mom didn't use it, but all my friends have! :s Just don't know if I should or not. Being unable to feel or use the lower half of my body kind freaks me out a lil. lol

Quoting DollFace-23:

EPIDURAL! that is the key to comfortable labor, because of my epidural, giving birth is the easieSt thing I've ever done!

[redbutterfly666]

i was laughing until i had to push, i didnt have an epi, i tried but they couldnt get the needle in so they stabbed me 4 times before i just told them to knock it off

[ara-myangel]

Well it is painful but the key is to relax and keep your baby as the motivation. I went 9cm before I had an epidural. I was on the brink of tears and clenching my nails into my husband's hand. That's why I give women who went completely natural my respect. Once I had the epidural, I felt nothing but the crowning. A sharp moment of intense burning pain and then it was gone and I heard my baby cry. The contractions are like waves. Compare it to the ocean. You see a wave coming, it reaches its peak, and then drops. Each peak brings more intense pain and each contraction comes closer. They'll feel like menstrual cramps times 10 in the most cases. To prepare, I took birthing classes and learned breathing techniques. Breathe through each contraction and remember the pain will all be worth it in the end! Good luck!

[Nicki1995]

Epidurals suck! I hated having to get 1 because of not being able to feel anything. And i mean anything. They messed up on my epidural and the medicine went up my spine instead of down so i could feel belly down when they were about to cut me for the csection! I couldnt feel like belly button up to my cheeks. They had to position me so the medicine would go back down where it should have gone in the first place. I had to have a csection because my vagina was too tight for vaginal birth, my cervix wasnt positioned right (which didnt make much of i difference i have discovered), and i wouldnt dialate for anything! They couldnt even break my water. Next time, i am getting a new doctor and trying VBAC WITHOUT pain killers. Lol Dont freak out over it though. Just stay calm about it and everything will go fine

[Mrs.Kubalabuku]

Every woman's pain tolerance and endurance levels are different.  Go in with a general idea of what you want, but keep an open mind.  B/c while it is natural and something millions of women have done, it can get kind of crazy.  My only advice really is to wait on pain meds, as some can slow down the progress of labor.  Talk to  your OB about the various options and what s/he likes to use and why, then talk about your preferences.

Personally, I never got the chance for natural.  I had complications with DS1, and was induced.  They gave me an epidural after my OB and I talked about it.  My risk of a C section was high, but he wanted to do a trial labor.  If I had the epidural in, if an emergency came up I wouldn't have to be put under, just have the meds switched.  I ended up with a vaginal birth, but I didn't feel the stronger labor pains.  They were really good with the epirdural, though.  I could feel him coming out, and while it hurt it was neat to be in the moment.  And I was able to get up and walk around within minutes of the birth.

With DS2, I reached 7cm all on my own, and then my son was found to be breach.  My blood pressure was skyrocketing and he had distress.  I had to have a C section.

[bear.katten]

Labor was HORRIBLY painful! BUT my son came out facing the wrong way. I did well until about 5cm, it hurt pretty bad but I breathed through it. Then when they put me on the monitors to check him they found out that his heart rate was going down during contractions because he was on his cord so they had me flip over to get him off of it. I believe that was the exact moment he turned the wrong way because the very next contraction had me screaming. It was like someone was gutting me over and over and over again, 30 second break, and then gutting me again. I had to wait 45 minutes for the epidural and they had to up it twice before it started to actually work. Then once his head started to crown the epidural didnt work anymore (they did NOT turn it down) and he got stuck while crowning so I pushed while he crowned for an hour.
I tore in 3 places. 2 up and 1 down and my midwife stitched me for 35 minutes (I didnt want to ask how many stitches there were).
You never know what will happen during your labor and delivery. I pray your baby doesnt turn the wrong way because it sucks!

[Marissak14]

My mom spent most of my pregnancy telling me how bad labor hurt and told my doctor and nurses I was a wimp when it came to pain, and when I was in labor I didn't cry or even flinch, just breathed through it. You lose control and its hard to get that control back. I did get the epi and was able to go from 3 cm to 6 in about two hours then about two hours after that I was ready to push. Ill have to admit it was weird not being able to feel anything from the waist down, but it made my labor speed up so much because I was able to relax. I'd definitely do it again, it was my best friend. Lol